LOMBARD, Ill. — Even as retail competitors Bay Furniture and Aronson Furniture are closing, The

Roomplace at Harlem Furniture keeps chugging along with the opening of its 17th metro Chicago store Friday, and with work under way on two more units.

The 21,000-square-foot showroom in fast-growing Joliet, southwest of Chicago, has updated features and new touches, including better lighting, darker wood floors and a warmer, fashionable color palette, said CEO Bruce Berman.

He projected annual sales at the store, which offers next-day delivery, at about $12 million to $15 million.
“We’re excited about the new store opening and we think we’re going to do well there,” Berman said. Joliet is a thriving market, he said.

That’s not to say the furniture business climate isn’t challenging. Chicagoland competitor Bay Furniture just closed in the market and Aronson Furniture has begun going out of business sales at its nine stores.

Berman said Harlem has seen single-digit same-store sales increases this year, which probably represents a gain in market share.

“I think that even in a challenging market, if you concentrate on having extremely strong operations, there is always market share available, which allows for growth in spite of a down market,” he said.

Harlem will move beyond the metro area for the first time in January when it opens a 30,000-square-foot store in Mishawaka, Ind., near South Bend and about 125 miles from Chicago. In the spring it plans to open a 30,000-square-foot store in Algonquin, Ill., a western suburb of Chicago.

In about two weeks, Harlem will complete an expansion of its Vernon Hill, Ill., store, doubling its showroom size to about 25,000 square feet. 

Berman said he’s looking for the chain to do about $200 million this year, and projects sales of roughly $250 million in 2014. Harlem was No. 42 on Furniture/Today’s survey of Top 100 U.S. Furniture Stores this year with estimated sale of $185.9 million at 15 stores in 2012.

Key suppliers include Lifestyle Enterprise, New Generations, PeopLoungers and Simmons in bedding.